Weblink 1.3 The structure of solid NaCl

Shown here is part of the structure of solid NaCl, which consists of a regular array (a lattice) of sodium ions (blue) and chloride ions (green). By rotating the structure you should be able to see that each cation is surrounded by six anions, and vice versa. The anions are larger than the cations.

Click and drag to rotate the molecule; hold down shift, then click and drag to zoom.